Casting Call: The Get Down

In which we suggest who should star in the next big adaptation, remake, or historical film.

“I’ve been obsessed with the idea of how a city, in its lowest moment, forgotten and half destroyed, could give birth to such creativity and originality in music, art, and culture.” ­—Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann is set to direct The Get Down, a new music-driven Netflix drama series premiering in 2016. According to last week’s Netflix press release, the show is set in a dilapidated New York City during the 1970s and follows “a rag-tag crew of South Bronx teenagers” forced to fend for themselves. Luhrmann’s protagonists will face the everyday troubles of living in a rough neighborhood—from poverty to Bronx Tenements—and act as lens through which Luhrmann can explore the development of hip-hop, punk, and disco.

While little specifics of the plot have been released, following Baz Luhrmann’s style, we can certainly expect The Get Down to be full of fantasy, decadence, and romance. The Australian director has often cited Italian grand opera and Bollywood films to be his main source of inspiration, and we look forward to seeing how that will play out in New York City in the ’70s. While Luhrmann is only expected to direct the first two episodes as well as the season finale, his style will inevitably set the tone for the whole series. Academy-Award winning costume and production designer Catherine Martin has already signed on for the project.